The Cave
by Onmysignalunleashwords
Summary: In the midst of battle, Naruto finds himself under a powerful genjutsu. Can he escape alive? Who is the mysterious figure that haunts his world? Will he prevail or fall to his foe?


_AN_

_So I decided to write a little one-off story which the idea for came into my head whilst I was bored. This got written in about a week and I hope it's something all of you enjoy. It'll get a little bit dark at times but I think it's certainly an interesting idea. _

_Ideally read this all at once (hence the 14k word chapter) for the full effect. _

_Enjoy. OMSUW_

* * *

The Cave

They threw themselves into the cover of the rocks as the explosion behind them consumed earth and bodies alike in a fireball. Bracing themselves they felt the rushing draught as wind speed to balance the pressures in the wracked battlefield.

Smoke hung like a dirty pall, mixing with the dust and dirt thrown up from the fighting that ensued all around them. The world was a cacophony of fire and anger, punctuated by a symphony of clashes and thuds, bassier blasts from far away and the crashes of jutsu landing around them.

Then the lightning flashed, illuminating the rapidly deteriorating battlefield as the mud beneath them lost more and more of its solidity. Urgent footsteps slapped and squelched in the mud as composure was lost.

A figure came over the rocks and Naruto rose into a tackle, taking them down on the other side.

There was no space for finesse here, just instinct, grappling and guts. His aggressor rolled him and struck downwards but he shifted enough that the blow scythed into the ground. He swung an elbow, partially blinded by the mud and smoke. It connected and the grip atop him loosened for just a second.

He pushed upwards, throwing the figure back. There was a brief flash of silver that the lightning caught before he flung himself down again, the blade coming from nowhere. He heard bones break somewhere to his right but there was no time to worry about that. Someone was shouting too.

The blade came again but he was more aware now, the kunai catching the blow and turning it to one side before he pounced forwards, catching the man in a tackle and taking him down.

His felt his chest flare with pain as someone kicked him hard. Might have broken a rib but nothing he couldn't fight through. He'd definitely fought through worse. He spun off the body and rose to his feet. He had two opponents, both also covered in the dark mud.

There was a sonic howl to his left and a flash of fire and smoke as an exploding tag went off near some poor person. The rain was falling now, not heavily but with the menace and promise of more to come. His opponents came forwards once again, the sword wielder hanging back to pick him off as his bulkier companion moved first.

He gathered the chakra in his palm, the glowing blue ball briefly lighting his feral, mud covered features for a moment. He lunged forwards.

"Rasengan!"

The bulkier man saw the danger and moved, but his body had hidden the jutsu from the second man. It caught him full in the chest and did its work. He fell back with a cry that was lost as the wind rose once again and the sound of the war around him roared fully. The blade tumbled away into the mud.

Turning, the second man was in mid leap. He braced himself and once more they fell together in another brawl. He knocked aside the first blow and struck blindly upwards missing entirely. Then the elbow caught him in the face and he felt a white hot line of pain on his cheek. He tried to fend it off, scrabbling with one arm for any sort of purchase. The man was larger and stronger than him and it was beginning to show.

His hand closed around something hard, leather wrapped. He gripped it, feeling the weight as he tried to fend off more blows. His arm came up, the sword coming round behind it, slamming into the man's back.

Whether or not it had actually cut was irrelevant, the shock caused the man to cry out enough and loosen his grip. He rose up, kicked down and struck down with the sword, feeling the resistance as it pierced into him.

He paused for a moment to draw gasping breaths, becoming slowly aware of the pain and the feeling of mud and water on his face. He looked around and saw the rock he had been hiding behind flash as more lightning fell.

Then another assailant was on him, leading with a blow he knew could knock him unconscious. He realised that the mud made it hard for them to tell who he was, even if he could recognise her.

"Sakura-chan it's me!"

The roar of battle robbed his cry of noise and she came at him again. He blocked, feeling the power of those blows shake his arm. He dropped the sword and tried to get some distance.

"Sakura-chan!"

He shout still wasn't loud enough. He had to get closer. He ducked the next punch and caught her arm, dragging her close.

"Sakura-chan!"

She relented and he loosened his grip. Her gaze caught his for a second and recognised him. She nodded to him as the battle raged. He tried to shout once more.

"Where is everyone else?"

She didn't have time to respond as instinct told him to get to cover. He dived, his movements causing Sakura to follow him behind the rocks once more as the ground they had been standing on exploded. She had to raise her voice even though she was mere inches from him.

"I don't know, but this is too much for us. We need to fall back, something is wrong."

He shook his head, there was no time to think, and there were more of them coming out of the smoke. Then they saw more figures coming from the other side. They went back to back until Sakura recognised their comrades coming for them.

Naruto moved to meet his foes, knocking aside a blow before leaping to avoid the ground turning to nothing under his feet. Moments later he had to karawimi to prevent himself being incinerated, the boulder catching the searing flames instead. It took a moment to work out where he was and in that time he had to block and evade at least two strikes from more shinobi.

One of them was blindsided by a large figure in mud stained armour plate and flattened, allowing him to focus on the others. He mentally reminded himself to thank Choji later before concentrating on his current foe. He rushed towards them and they began to back off, sending small boulders flying in his direction as they did, forcing him to stay back.

There was a cry behind him as someone was hit by one of the stray projectiles and his body had to resist the urge to see who. He was a soldier and he needed to stay focused on the deadly enemy who could cause a lot of damage, and was unconcerned with who or what he hit.

He wanted to follow the man, to chase him off but his sensei's words swayed him away from that action. He had had a fight like this before and getting isolated would make his problems worse.

The lightning crashed again, briefly illuminating the ruined surroundings. The smoke clogged his mouth and made him cough slightly as he ducked under another small boulder.

He needed to be faster. He needed the power boost.

He felt the chakra rise to his need and begin to flood his muscles with that raw feeling of untamed and unkempt power. He felt the chakra of his prisoner rise within him and soak his legs and arms with what he required.

In an instant he had shot forwards and seized the surprise man before slamming him hard into the ground. Normally he left it at this but the raw chakra in his body wanted him to slam the body into the ground until it was a red paste. He fought back the feeling and felt the pangs of anger and suppressed rage as it fled his limbs before his willpower. He did not have to give in.

He turned in the direction of the fight, the sounds more localised now, where he had come from. The sound of clashing fights echoed through the haze and rain that now fell like a deluge from the heavens.

There were two very indistinct sides, and even with the after-effects of the beast's chakra in his system he couldn't tell who was who except for a few people. There were bodies all around, and a tight group of shinobi fought bitterly in the hazardous conditions. He knew that there could only be eight of them on his side.

Lightning flashed again, illuminating the carnage all around. There were bodies too, hopefully none of them from his side. He charged into the melee once again, trying to pick out who was who. They needed a rallying symbol.

"Rasengan!"

He held the shining sphere of chakra aloft and moved for the nearest foe, slamming it into their side. They spun, the blow robbed of momentum as once more churning, and stinging chakra bore into them with the unstopability of a mountain. They fell clutching their ruined side.

He offered a hand to the kneeling Konoha shinobi, recognising the blond hair despite the covering of soot and mud.

"Ino, are you alright?"

She nodded before dragging him down under a blow before the assailant stopped dead. Naruto spun and delivered a kick straight to the man's ribs, feeling them crack beneath his blow. He turned that into a rising uppercut that snapped the man's head back before he was released. Shikamaru was having fun on this battlefield then.

Figures were backing off now, leaving nine of them at the centre. They backed more closely together.

"Everyone alright?"

He couldn't fully see them all through the muddy rain and the smoke haze but he thought he heard it all fine. He heard Shikamaru's voice through the din.

"We need to find shelter, something is wrong with the mission. Something troublesome."

That got a chorus of assent. This fight should not have happened in the first place, somehow someone had found them when there was meant to be nobody in the region in the first place.

They turned to find another team of shinobi blocking their path. There were only three of them surely they could attack. He prepared to charge when he felt an arm check his motion. He turned to see Shino shake his head.

Whatever he said was mostly lost in the sound of the storm that burst around them but the indication was clear. Don't attack; we can do this better by not charging. Shino was right but it chafed against his more aggressive instincts like a tight collar. He shook the thoughts from his head, sending a cascade of mud and water from his blond hair.

He saw Ino collapse softly to his left and Choji reacted quickly to catch her, a moment later one of the team struck down another of them violently before the third took him out. Then the third's voice came out of the rain.

"You have done well, but there is no escape for you here."

Naruto raised his voice.

"We outnumber you, you cannot win."

He could have sworn he saw the man's eyebrow rise.

"Really? There is no escape from me."

He heard the hiss of explosives, somehow loud of the sound of the howling storm. He had only seconds to work out what he needed to do and do it. The team scattered away from the explosive charges that the man had laid.

They threw themselves into the cover of the rocks as the explosion behind them consumed earth and bodies alike in a fireball. Bracing themselves they felt the rushing draught as wind speed to balance the pressures in the wracked battlefield.

Smoke hung like a dirty pall, mixing with the dust and dirt thrown up from the fighting that ensued all around them. The world was a cacophony of fire and anger, punctuated by a symphony of clashes and thuds, bassier blasts from far away and the crashes of jutsu landing around them.

Then the lightning flashed, illuminating the rapidly deteriorating battlefield as the mud beneath them lost more and more of its solidity. Urgent footsteps slapped and squelched in the mud as composure was lost.

A figure came over the rocks and Naruto rose into a tackle, taking them down on the other side.

There was no space for finesse here, just instinct, grappling and guts. His aggressor rolled him and struck downwards but he shifted enough that the blow scythed into the ground. He swung an elbow, partially blinded by the mud and smoke. It connected and the grip atop him loosened for just a second.

He pushed upwards, throwing the figure back. There was a brief flash of silver that the lightning caught before he flung himself down again, the blade coming from nowhere. He heard bones break somewhere to his right but there was no time to worry about that. Someone was shouting too.

It was Sakura it had to be Sakura. But how had he known this? The blade came again and he ducked under it, ready for the attack of the second man he knew to be moving around to his left, the man held back, circling with his companion. How had he known that? He had been attacked and was now fighting wasn't he?

There was a sonic howl to his left and a flash of fire and smoke as an exploding tag went off near some poor person. His opponents came forwards once again, the sword wielder hanging back to pick him off as his bulkier companion moved first.

He gathered the chakra in his palm, the glowing blue ball briefly lighting his feral, mud covered features for a moment. He lunged forwards.

"Rasengan!"

The bulkier man saw the danger and moved, but his body had hidden the jutsu from the second man. It caught him full in the chest and did its work. He fell back with a cry that was lost as the wind rose once again and the sound of the war around him roared fully. The blade tumbled away into the mud.

Turning, the second man was in mid leap. He braced himself and once more they fell together in another brawl. He knocked aside the first blow and struck blindly upwards missing entirely. Then the elbow caught him in the face and he felt a white hot line of pain on his cheek. He tried to fend it off, scrabbling with one arm for any sort of purchase. The man was larger and stronger than him and it was beginning to show.

He knew where the sword was and found it quickly before the man could cramp him and plunged it forwards. The blade caught the man in the shoulder and he got a cry of agony from the man, he kicked him back, pulling the blade out as he did. He had never wanted to use a sword, and he had no idea how to use it other than to stab and swing. He tossed it aside into the mud.

He saw Sakura coming in fast and frantically caught the blow.

"Sakura-chan, it's me again."

She tried to hit him again and he grabbed her arm to disable her.

"Sakura-chan! That's twice you've nearly attacked me this fight!"

She recognised his voice and sounded confused as she shouted back to him.

"Twice? Something's wrong, we need to fall back. This is too much for us!"

He shook his head, there was no time to think, and there were more of them coming out of the smoke. Then they saw more figures coming from the other side. They went back to back until Sakura recognised their comrades coming for them.

Naruto moved to meet his foes, knocking aside a blow before leaping to avoid the ground turning to nothing under his feet. Moments later he had to karawimi to prevent himself being incinerated, the boulder catching the searing flames instead. It took a moment to work out where he was and in that time he had to block and evade at least two strikes from more shinobi.

One of them was blindsided by a large figure in mud stained armour plate and flattened, allowing him to focus on the others. He mentally reminded himself to thank Choji twice later before concentrating on his current foe. He rushed towards them and they began to back off, sending small boulders flying in his direction as they did, forcing him to stay back.

Wait...thank him twice? This was only happening now. There hadn't been another time before this. Why was this all so familiar? Why did he know that his opponent was firing blindly and needed to be taken out using the Fox's chakra because of his ranged assault? What was going on?

The moment's thought nearly cost him dearly as a boulder skimmed past his knees close enough to rip the fabric.

There was a cry behind him as someone was hit by one of the stray projectiles and his body had to resist the urge to see who. He was a soldier and he needed to stay focused on the deadly enemy who could cause a lot of damage, and was unconcerned with who or what he hit.

He wanted to follow the man, to chase him off but his sensei's words swayed him away from that action. He had had a fight like this before and getting isolated would make his problems worse.

The lightning crashed again, briefly illuminating the ruined surroundings. The smoke clogged his mouth and made him cough slightly as he ducked under another small boulder.

Before he had even thought the action it was occurring as if he had always intended to call on the chakra at this moment. Normally it was more difficult the first time he did it after not doing so for some time, but this felt easy. Too easy.

Part of him was trying to get him to stop and realise what was going on. He looked to the sky as he ducked another boulder and saw the blue sky breaking before him. Then why was the ground wet? Why was there lightning and no rain or clouds?

He felt the chakra rise to his need and begin to flood his muscles with that raw feeling of untamed and unkempt power. He felt the chakra of his prisoner rise within him and soak his legs and arms with what he required.

In an instant he had shot forwards and seized the surprise man before slamming him hard into the ground. Normally he left it at this but the raw chakra in his body wanted him to slam the body into the ground until it was a red paste. He fought back the feeling and felt the pangs of anger and suppressed rage as it fled his limbs before his willpower. He did not have to give in.

He turned in the direction of the fight, the sounds more localised now, where he had come from. The sound of clashing fights echoed through the haze and smoke.

There were two very indistinct sides, and even with the after-effects of the beast's chakra in his system he couldn't tell who was who except for a few people. There were bodies all around, and a tight group of shinobi fought bitterly in the smoky conditions. He knew that there could only be eight of them on his side.

Then why did he remember seeing this before? Why did he remember rain and a deluge? Was this?

He flared his genjutsu and felt the nauseous pressure of the genjutsu rise from him like a blanket of tight material being removed from his face. He gasped a deep breath and felt arms catch him as he stumbled from the change.

"Naruto-kun!"

He opened his eyes, his world still spinning. He recognised that voice. That was Hinata; he was back with his team.

"Naruto-k..."

There was the sound of a blade entering flesh and he spun to see Hinata fall to the ground with the point of the sword sticking out of her, red with blood. Her arm was outstretched towards him as she fell face down into the cloying mud as the rain hammered down on him.

He felt the anger rise as he looked around to see the bodies around him.

"Hinata-chan...Sakura-chan...Kiba...no."

He counted through the gathering red haze that blotted out all else. Four, five, six, seven...eight. One man standing who he could barely see holding the blood stained blade out towards him with a wide grin barely visible on his face.

"All alone. There is no escape for you. This will happen soon."

They were dead. All of them dead. He felt the chakra draw so very easily around him, one tail, two tails, and three tails. He felt the dead heat as it began to sear his flesh with its suffocating presence.

**"He's right. There is no escape. Give in to me. There is no escape. They are gone."**

Then he felt the blow to his chest that knocked him backwards. The chakra receded as the cloying reality of the genjutsu once more peeled back away from him against its fiery wrath. He gasped as rain once more washed over his face. Then Sakura slapped him hard in the face.

"Naruto snap out of it! We need you with us now."

He opened his eyes to see her kneeling over him. The world was cold mud and smoke above; his muscles ached with lactic acid. He breathed deep breaths, trying to ignore the rain that seemed to just be everywhere.

"What happened?"

She shook her head as if she didn't know, blue eyes piercing into his.

"Sakura...what happened to your eyes?"

"Nothing, it's just the fox Naruto. Ignore it."

She pulled him to sitting upright and he felt his back ache as if he hadn't used it for years. No, it wasn't the fox. This was just another illusion. It had to be. He looked around. Shino's jacket, though mud stained nearly beyond recognition, and was bluer now. There was nothing else green. All greens were blue. He looked at Ino. Her purple outfit was now more blue too.

In fact everything was blue. He shook his head from side to side a cried out in frustration before he pulsed his chakra as hard as he could. Once more the nauseating feeling of released pressure and chakra washed over him like it was being peeled off him slowly.

He was standing again; he was where he had been before. A quick glance out of his peripheral vision told him that everyone was still here. He looked ahead to see that the figure had gone. He tried to speak but couldn't find the words.

Shikamaru shook his head and nodded.

Naruto glanced around all his teammates. Nine of them sent off to perform their mission. It should have been simple, carry the scroll, deliver the scroll, and return home. At least the first bit had gone alright, the scroll had been delivered.

Then it had all gone wrong. The smoke remained hanging over the battlefield which was now silent save for the rain falling on mud, human and puddles. It smelled faintly of blood and explosive powder too. He found himself almost tasting the air as the team half walked, half staggered after Hinata who was the only one able to see even remotely far in the conditions.

In theory they had won that battle, they hadn't lost anyone and there had been bodies on the field afterwards. He still couldn't help but wonder why he didn't feel any sense of elation at all about what had happened. A quick glance told him everyone else seemed to feel similar.

They slowly left the battlefield behind, the ground evening out and becoming rockier. Hinata broke into a jog in relief as they saw a cave entrance that looked promising.

The cave echoed with the sound of wet feet on cold rock, but the floor was flat enough and dry enough that it was fine. They all were tired, that was for certain. He looked around once more at his teammates. He could certainly see eight outlines and yet. Had his eyes deceived him? He was sure that there was a tenth figure in the darkness, moving around the edges as normally as any other.

He decided to ask but at the last moment decided not to. He was tired, the cave was dark. Surely there was nothing else in here with them. Nothing human or dangerous that they could not handle at the very least.

In the dark of the cave they moved as faint outlines. He realised they had no way of making a fire here, there probably wasn't any dry wood for miles around. They huddled together for warmth as what little daylight there was began to fade.

Nobody was talking, a mixture of tiredness and a sullen, pervading mood providing little material for conversation. For a moment Naruto considered speaking, saying anything to try and break through to his team. He felt the tiredness too. Next to him, Sakura's wet form shifted closer to him, an arm falling across him.

It wasn't uncomfortable but it made him more self aware of how close her body was to him. Still, with Sai close to his other side there wasn't time to really act more. No conversation he could have here would be private anyway.

Aside from the sound of them moving against each other, shivering in the cold to keep themselves warm, there was still silence. It was a very odd silence, right and yet very wrong.

He looked at Sakura, down at where he felt her head rest against his shoulder softly. She looked up at him with urgent, pleading emerald eyes. He tired to voice a question but once more felt it stifled within him.

In the bare, quarter light that entered through the cave, he could see the outlines of her face that he knew so well. The pink hair that fell gracefully just short of her shoulders, the curve of her nose, her beautiful eyes.

Something was missing. He couldn't see the parting of her lips at all. He ran his hands across her face, trying to find her mouth. It was gone.

He reached for his own and with horror it took him longer. He took in Sakura's pleading eyes as she tried to warn him desperately with just her gaze. He could read the message in them as panic began to rise within him.

How had he not noticed this? How was this still not real? It felt so real it was so real. He rose and thumped his hand on the wall, the pain was real enough, and he could see the flecks of blood on his hand from where it had impacted the sharp rock face.

Others had risen to stop him, the only sounds their feet hitting the rock floor. He felt someone, likely Kiba grab him and try and turn him away. He tried to breathe more deeply but they wouldn't come, his non-existent mouth trying to open and close and not doing so.

Nobody was talking because nobody could talk. It was a twisted world, the pervading fear slowly gripping everyone from the lost fight. What kind of madman could come up with something like this?

He began to feel the chakra rise within him like a fire slowly consuming everything. If he gave in then he could obliterate this world and everything in it. He could overpower and crush everyone who tried to stop him. He tried to self control but he wanted to punch and hit and fight.

The clattering of feet only heightened his panic. His ribs still ached from the earlier fight. He felt Sakura grab him and look him dead in the eyes, the green somehow shining through the gloom of the cave. They were her medic eyes, the eyes that meant she was in control. He forced his breathing to slow with hers as she drew him closer, wrapping her arms around his. Echoes in the cave kept growing impossibly.

He forced himself to end the embrace, knowing that every second was robbing him of time and chakra. He concentrated on his own body, feeling the slight cut on his hand weep a little more blood over his arm.

He flared his chakra, unable to vocalise his anger at the genjutsu. He tried again, using more of his willpower and mental strength.

He was rewarded as once more reality peeled away over him, making him feel once more nauseous and once more tired. His ribs ached from the earlier blows, his hand stung from the wound but there was nothing badly wrong with him.

Reality rolled back, the figures in the cave becoming shadows within shadows and then cold outlines of nothingness on nothingness. He gasped as the genjutsu released him back into something else.

He dropped to one knee a took in panting breaths, reassured that his mouth now existed again. He heard his name called by someone close, it was Sakura. Was that her voice?

"Sakura-chan?"

"Naruto, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

He rose, fighting against the grinding of his ribs in his chest. Was it getting worse or was this all just a part of his imagination.

He was back on the battlefield, and rain drummed down on the Konoha teams in the field. The figure that had sent the genjutsu lay very still some feet away. The water around him looked a little redder than just muddy water.

He stood up and Sakura hooked an arm under his, helping him back to straight. He saw her make the somewhat familiar hand signs for the diagnostic palm jutsu as Ino stood in close attendance as the two medics for the squad. A quick glance around showed Kiba, Shino and Sai looking around to make sure nothing more was coming as Choji, Hinata and Shikamaru stood as a closer inner ring.

The rain continued to fall, the smoke still pervading the whole battlefield. The dark clouds still hid the sun and cast the world in a haze of blacks, greys and browns. Everything was covered in dirt and dust and mud. At least that was how he had remembered everything being before he'd gone under.

Sakura muttered under her breath as she checked his body with the glowing green palm and Ino watched him carefully. When she had finished she softly pressed a hand against his stomach against the area where he had been kicked. The fresh wound having even the soft pressure of her gentle hands was enough to make him wince.

She pulled the hand away.

"Broken rib, but you've suffered worse. Don't push yourself and you'll be ready in not very long. You heal fast anyways."

He nodded.

"Glad to hear it from you Sakura-chan."

She looked at him strangely.

"What kind of genjutsu was that? It usually takes a lot to bring you down with those."

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"It was pretty intense, kinda weird too. Who was that guy?"

Ino shrugged and gave him a slap on the back, merely bending caused his aching ribs to hurt with a dull ache.

"Do you think any of us know? It isn't like he announced himself after taking you out. Shikamaru had him shortly afterwards and then Choji flattened him."

Well at least that was normal too. Shikamaru wandered over.

"You are troublesome Naruto. We need to find shelter, no sense staying out in this."

He gestured to the tortured skies and the deluge that engulfed the battlefield and everything in it. The smoke still hung from the explosions and fire of the fight.

Naruto nodded as Shikamaru beckoned Hinata over and gave her instructions. She nodded, stealing a quick glance at Naruto before turning quickly away as her eyes met his, a blush slightly spreading onto her cheeks.

He looked at Sakura as if to ask but she shook her head slowly muttering something under her breath. Ino too had disappeared from his side.

They began to follow Hinata in a loose formation with sensors at the outside and medics at the centre. Naruto found each step aggravated his injury just a little each time, as well as the sickening disorientation of the time difference between what he knew and what he perceived. In reality it had been about three minutes since he had awoken from the genjutsu. To his mind it had been longer, far longer. But he could remember both visions so clearly, so very clearly. That was unusual.

Normally the mind dismissed genjutsu like a dream, like they were nothing. Yet everything here was so real, he could reach out and touch things in the visions they had given.

He shivered as he remembered every detail. The combat he had taken once again, diving into cover and anticipating his opponent's actions again. He had seen Sakura and Hinata and Shino dead. Not looking dead, but dead. He remembered the anger and how easily the fox's chakra had become his.

He remembered the coldness of the cave and the nauseating and disorienting feeling of having no mouth. He remembered the pleading eyes, the desperate pleading eyes telling him to break free, to escape the nightmare he had somehow entered.

He remembered every word spoken. He shivered as he did so. The voices, all so real. Not the half voice you heard in a dream that wasn't complete but the full and real thing.

It felt like at least three real hours had passed, each of them very, very real. He could feel the mental and physical fatigue bearing down on his body like weights.

"Naruto-kun, are you ok?"

That was Hinata's voice. He looked up, realising he had been staring into space without seeing anything for what felt like hours.

"Huh. Oh. Yeah. Thinking."

Sakura sighed next to him.

"It never was your strong point was it?"

Ino chuckled as she gave Naruto a little tug forwards, following the path Hinata were leading towards the cave. He knew this path. He had walked it before.

"Left, there's an outcrop to the left."

Hinata looked with her Byakugan and found it.

"There is, how did you?"

"A guess I guess."

But it hadn't been. He had been here before; he had followed this path, as poorly as he had followed it the first time, before. Even through the rain and the drifting smoke still obscured his vision he still new it was there.

No, that couldn't be the reason for it. He saw Shikamaru looking at him strangely.

"What?"

Shikamaru shrugged.

"Calm Naruto it's just unusual for you to make such guesses. Sakura, you need to do a deeper inspection just in case something is terribly wrong. Maybe a brain scan if not too troublesome?"

She sighed.

"Not funny Shikamaru. He's fine, just tired. He took the worst of everything as he always does."

Shikamaru shrugged, but there was something about his words that irked Naruto immensely, like Shikamaru was sneering at him. Sakura too was right, why did he always take the worst.

He tried to breathe again, taking in the humid, soaked air. He was tired, in pain and weary. He had been disabled. He was just working it off as he was on edge. He breathed deeply as they approached the cave once more, hearing Kiba talk with Choji about how the fight had gone and how he had defeated several of them.

Once more he felt a pang of annoyance at his teammate's actions, even if they too were completely normal. Was Kiba insinuating that he was better than him? He could show Kiba in an instant who was the best out of the two of them.

He almost summoned a little of the chakra before he realised that this wasn't the right way to do things. Kiba always did this; he usually did this as well. He was tired, he needed to sleep.

The cave echoed with the sound of wet feet on cold rock, but the floor was flat enough and dry enough that it was fine. They all were tired, that was for certain. He looked around once more at his teammates. He could certainly see eight outlines and yet. Had his eyes deceived him? He was sure that there was a tenth figure in the darkness, moving around the edges as normally as any other.

He decided to ask but at the last moment decided not to. He was tired, the cave was dark. Surely there was nothing else in here with them. Nothing human or dangerous that they could not handle at the very least.

In the dark of the cave they moved as faint outlines. He realised they had no way of making a fire here, there probably wasn't any dry wood for miles around. They huddled together for warmth as what little daylight there was began to fade.

There were quiet mumbles of conversation between some of them, Shikamaru muttering to Ino and vice versa. For a moment Naruto considered speaking, saying anything to try and break through to his team. He felt the tiredness too. Next to him, Sakura's wet form shifted closer to him, an arm falling across him.

"Naruto-kun..."

Her words lingered a little as she whispered them.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

He softly held her closer, aware once more of how close she was. It was the same as how it had happened in the last genjutsu layer, on this time it was with speaking as well. Sakura was calmer now, exhausted as well.

"I'm fine...just tired."

She reached for his hand and ran hers over it a little. The contact was so soft, her skin still a little wet from the time they had spent in the rain. He let the contact linger for a few minutes, unsure of how to react to how close she was and the silent, intimate moment they shared. They paused as they reached a spot where her touch caused him a soft shiver of discomfort. She ran her hands over the area again and then raised it into the dim light of the cave.

"I...didn't see this injury. You're bleeding from the hand Naruto. Your wounds normally close up faster than this...this is wrong."

He raised his hand into the dim light and saw the wound. It wasn't a great wound, more a series of small gashes each of which wept only a little bit of blood. A bad graze. He tried to remember where in the fight it had happened.

He couldn't, he could remember every blow of where the fight had started, each little piece of the brawl. There was nowhere that he could remember gashing his hand open. Was it that he was tired or?

Another memory floated treacherously back into his mind as to the origin. He stood suddenly, ignoring the slight noise of surprise that Sakura made at his sudden motion. He tried to remember how he had risen before and ran his hands along the side of the cave.

He found what he was looking for with a pang of dread. No, that had been part of the illusion, it couldn't be possible.

It was the same cave, and it was the same place in the wall that he had hammered his hand into in frustration and anger. It was exactly the same. There was even...

He ran his hand over the part of the wall which he had struck and his fingers found something thicker and stickier than the condensation that covered the cave. The dim light from the entrance was enhanced by a flash of lightning that showed the blood on his hand.

His blood, but not from his current wound. That was impossible. He felt a soft tug on his arm and turned to see Hinata tugging gently on his arm. He knew everyone was watching him now, and he wasn't sure he liked that.

"N-Naruto-kun. Please rest. P-please?"

Her stutter annoyed him a little, and he couldn't see her face. He had to figure out what was going on, this place couldn't be real, it couldn't be the same place if his blood was already here.

He looked past Hinata to see the seven other silhouetted figures in the dim light and then the whispers of an eighth moving towards the cave exit. He tried to move but Hinata gripped his arm.

"Naruto-kun! What's wrong?"

"There's someone there, moving to the exit!"

He tore out of her grasp, others rose in alarm. Sakura grabbed him and he half struggled against her grip.

"There's nobody there Naruto! There are eight of us here and we would have seen them."

"No, there's someone there! I saw them damn it."

He pushed back and Sakura stumbled backwards, slipping on the wet floor. Sai caught her before she hit the ground as the others surrounded Naruto. He tried to push through but Shikamaru had him tightly grasped in his shadow.

"Let me go!"

"Naruto calm down. You're exhausted. Stop."

He felt his mind whirring as he tried to reconcile what he felt with what he could feel. This had to be another illusion; there was no way that this was the true reality.

"Kai!"

His chakra flared but it wasn't enough.

**"You need me. There is no escape from me."**

He had no choice, he needed the chakra. Like a starburst the chakra flared into his system and he flared it violently.

Reality was slower to fold back this time. He was given a brief glimpse of time as if everything else had frozen in a moment and left him alone in being part of the world. The darkness began to fade, showing him everything clearly.

There was Kiba, his mouth wide as he prepared to shout something at Naruto, Shino too behind him, his face curiously worried, the expression more clear with time frozen. He turned to see Hinata, looking shocked and curling inwards on herself, Sai's expressionless white face looking at Sakura who stared at him in horror.

He looked away; he didn't want to see her look like that. He stared towards the entrance as white blanketed everything and swore he saw someone in the entrance, staring in, familiar yet alien to him.

The world became saturated with white and peeled back slowly, immersing his very being in what felt like thick, sticky water which flowed over and around him. It was worse than each other time and he gasped a huge breath of air as it ended.

He was standing on the battlefield once again looking at the man who chuckled and called down to the nin Konoha shinobi.

"Really? There is no escape from me."

They threw themselves into the cover of the rocks as the explosion behind them consumed earth and bodies alike in a fireball. Bracing themselves they felt the rushing draught as wind speed to balance the pressures in the wracked battlefield.

Smoke hung like a dirty pall, mixing with the dust and dirt thrown up from the fighting that ensued all around them. The world was a cacophony of fire and anger, punctuated by a symphony of clashes and thuds, bassier blasts from far away and the crashes of jutsu landing around them.

Then the lightning flashed, illuminating the rapidly deteriorating battlefield as the mud beneath them lost more and more of its solidity. Urgent footsteps slapped and squelched in the mud as composure was lost.

A figure came over the rocks and Naruto rose into a tackle, taking them down on the other side.

There was no space for finesse here, just instinct, grappling and guts. His aggressor rolled him and struck downwards but he shifted enough that the blow scythed into the ground. He swung an elbow, partially blinded by the mud and smoke. It connected and the grip atop him loosened for just a second.

He pushed upwards, throwing the figure back. There was a brief flash of silver that the lightning caught before he flung himself down again, the blade coming from nowhere. He heard bones break somewhere to his right but there was no time to worry about that. Someone was shouting too.

It was Sakura it had to be Sakura. He knew what was going to happen now. The blade came again and he ducked under it, ready for the attack of the second man he knew to be moving around to his left, the man held back, circling with his companion. It was all the same again and he just needed to play his part.

There was a sonic howl to his left and a flash of fire and smoke as an exploding tag went off near some poor person. His opponents came forwards once again, the sword wielder hanging back to pick him off as his bulkier companion moved first.

He gathered the chakra in his palm, the glowing blue ball briefly lighting his feral, mud covered features for a moment. He lunged forwards knowing it would work.

"Rasengan!"

The bulkier man saw the danger and moved, but his body had hidden the jutsu from the second man. It caught him full in the chest and did its work. He fell back with a cry that was lost as the wind rose once again and the sound of the war around him roared fully. The blade tumbled away into the mud.

He only just ducked under the second man and thrust with the sword as he tried to rise, feeling the resistance as it ran through him. It was cleaner than before certainly. He felt his cheek burn as once more a wound opened up. Had the man caught him with something as he had gone past? Some shrapnel maybe?

He saw Sakura coming in fast and frantically caught the blow.

"Sakura-chan, it's me again."

She tried to hit him again and he grabbed her arm to disable her for the third time.

"Sakura-chan!"

She recognised his voice and sounded confused as she shouted back to him.

"Something's wrong, we need to fall back. This is too much for us!"

He shook his head; there was no need to think he knew there were more of them coming out of the smoke. Then they saw more figures coming from the other side. They went back to back until Sakura recognised their comrades coming for them.

Naruto moved to meet his foes, knocking aside a blow before leaping to avoid the ground turning to nothing under his feet, but he had been ready, karawiming away from the fireball that engulfed the air. Emerging from behind the attacking shinobi he was able to slam a rasengan into each before they knew where he was.

Choji nodded as he came past, moving for an enemy that Shikamaru had restrained. No need to thank him this time.

The moment's thought nearly cost him dearly as a boulder skimmed past his knees close enough to rip the fabric again. He didn't look but it seemed similar. A sickening feeling that this genjutsu would play out the same again and again came over him.

There was a cry behind him as someone was hit by one of the stray projectiles and his body had to resist the urge to see who. He was a soldier and he needed to stay focused on the deadly enemy who could cause a lot of damage, and was unconcerned with who or what he hit.

Before he had even thought the action it was occurring as if he had always intended to call on the chakra at this moment. Normally it was more difficult the first time he did it after not doing so for some time, but this felt easy. Too easy.

Part of him was trying to get him to stop and realise what was going on. He looked to the sky as he ducked another boulder and saw the blue sky breaking before him. Then why was the ground wet? Why was there lightning and no rain or clouds?

He felt the chakra rise to his need and begin to flood his muscles with that raw feeling of untamed and unkempt power. He felt the chakra of his prisoner rise within him and soak his legs and arms with what he required so very easily.

In an instant he had shot forwards and seized the surprise man before slamming him hard into the ground. Normally he left it at this but the raw chakra in his body wanted him to slam the body into the ground until it was a red paste. He fought back the feeling and felt the pangs of anger and suppressed rage as it fled his limbs before his willpower. He did not have to give in, but the chakra fought him for longer than it usually did.

He turned in the direction of the fight, the sounds more localised now, where he had come from. The sound of clashing fights echoed through the haze and smoke. He knew all eight of his teammates would make it out of there alive.

He looked around, trying to work out where the figure would come from and found it. He moved towards it, trying to spot the man through the smoke and rain that still poured. His ribs ground under him and he really felt their pain now.

In truth he wondered if he really was in the real world or just inside the genjutsu world again. Every time he broke out of one layer he entered another which just rumbled on and on.

He checked his hand, there was no wound yet. That was odd, his ribs were continuing the punishment but his hand didn't. He heard a noise to his left and ducked under a kick before catching a blow on his arms.

"You! What have you done?"

The figure continued to attack him and he did his best to grapple with him. He was stronger than this man, and the urge to raise his strength with the fox's chakra was strong too. He grabbed the man's arm and twisted it behind him.

"Stop the genjutsu now!"

The figure turned to dust in his hands before he registered the danger from behind. The shadow clone took the brunt of the attack, bursting into smoke as Naruto ducked and rose into an uppercut that shook the man's chin hard. He bore him to the ground and pounded downwards with his hands hard.

"Rasengan!"

He'd never struck a foe with a Rasengan like this and he didn't want to feel the power of the jutsu up close again. The ball of spinning chakra burrowed into the man's head showering the area with blood. He stood and turned as Sakura managed to find his position.

She took one look at the ruined opponent before turning to Naruto, who knelt panting over his kill.

"That's the worst Rasengan damage I've ever seen Naruto."

He turned and trudge up the hill. This had to be the real world, that guy was dead; he was free from the jutsu.

"It wasn't nice to see it first hand as it happened either. Is everyone alright?"

Sakura nodded, the rain was flattening her hair to her head and everything was soaked through. If he hadn't been as tired he might have paid more attention to her body and the way the rain flattened her clothing around it.

"We're fine, we're going to find shelter."

Naruto nodded, this time he could be sure.

"There's a cave about twenty minutes from here in that" he indicated with a tired point of his arm, "direction. It's nothing great but it is the best shelter for miles around here."

Sakura nodded, not questioning how he knew but glad that he did know it. They stumbled through the thick mud and smoke towards where the rest of their team stood.

The image of the Rasengan burying itself into the man's head stayed with Naruto far too long, and he shook his head to try and be rid of it. It sent rain and mud flying off his hair to the sodden ground.

United once more, the group made their wave once more towards the cave. He was walking it on automatic now, his brain a haze due to the hours of genjutsu time that he could still remember. He still wasn't sure that this was the real world, he would know in time.

He kept checking his hand, daring it cut open again, daring it once more to begin bleeding without any reason. When it did he would break out of the genjutsu once again, if not then nothing would happen.

He cast his gaze around as they walked, trying to spot the tenth figure that was haunting his world in the previous layers. He felt a pang of frustration that this wasn't real, despite how real it felt. It was like a vivid dream from which he could wake into another.

He nearly stumbled, becoming aware of how long he had been awake. The smoke and rain felt like it was trying to clog his very breath, depriving him of oxygen. He took some deep breaths, ignoring the look of concern Sakura was giving him.

He knew the terrain by now, knowing how much time was left until they reached the cave. This was the third time he had done this, the third time they had walked through the rain to the cave. It was beyond de ja vu, this felt more and more like destiny. Whether Hinata found it or he knew where it was it would always be there.

He saw it look out of the darkness. Cold, dark, like a gaping maw now that he really paid it attention. It was at least out of the freezing rain and wind, and let in less of the clogging, cloying smoke.

They entered once more, and he could have sworn that the clatter of feet on on the stone and the slap of wet clothing and feet on the ground was exactly the same as the previous three times. He could hear Kiba talking about the battle again and it was the same words.

Yet if this was another layer of the genjutsu then he couldn't break out of it by normal means. It had to be another coincidence, it just had to be. It was just inside his head and turning his own thoughts against him.

He was too tired to process this.

There were quiet mumbles of conversation between some of them, Shikamaru muttering to Ino and vice versa. For a moment Naruto considered speaking, saying anything to try and break through to his team. He felt the tiredness too. Next to him, Sakura's wet form shifted closer to him, an arm falling across him.

"Naruto-kun..."

Her words lingered a little as she whispered them.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

He softly held her closer, aware once more of how close she was. It was the same as how it had happened in the last genjutsu layer, on this time it was with speaking as well. Sakura was calmer now, exhausted as well.

"I'm fine...just tired. Feel like I've been awake for a day."

It was true, it had been a long day before they had run into the patrol, and he had effectively lived another since. He pinched his nose to try and keep his brain going.

She reached for his hand and ran hers over it a little. The contact was so soft, her skin still a little wet from the time they had spent in the rain. He let the contact linger for a few minutes, unsure of how to react to how close she was and the silent, intimate moment they shared. They paused as they reached a spot where her touch caused him a soft shiver of discomfort. She ran her hands over the area again and then raised it into the dim light of the cave.

"I...didn't see this injury. You're bleeding from the hand Naruto. Your wounds normally close up faster than this...this is wrong."

The same words. There was no escaping them.

He pulled his hand away, it must have happened during the battle. It had to have, he just didn't notice or it had randomly opened. That had to be it.

"It's nothing big, let's just leave it be."

He couldn't resist as she dragged his arm back out and examined the wound as best she could. He took his gaze of her for a second and saw the figure once more in the entrance of the cave. His ribs burnt, reminding him of the increasing pain that his injury was causing him.

He tried to ignore it. Then saw the tenth figure. He knew it. He tried to rise but Sakura dragged him back down.

"What's wrong?"

"There's someone there, moving to the exit!"

He tore out of her grasp, others rose in alarm. Sakura grabbed him and he half struggled against her grip.

"There's nobody there Naruto! There are eight of us here and we would have seen them."

"No, there's someone there! I saw them damn it."

He pushed back and Sakura stumbled backwards, slipping on the wet floor. Sai caught her before she hit the ground as the others surrounded Naruto. He tried to push through but Shikamaru had him tightly grasped in his shadow.

"Let me go!"

"Naruto calm down. You're exhausted. Stop."

He felt his mind whirring as he tried to reconcile what he felt with what he could feel. This had to be another illusion; there was no way that this was the true reality.

But he'd thought that before. He'd had this same conversation and these same thoughts before. He had escaped here before and he couldn't do it again, he had to continue.

"Shika, let me go."

The boy shook his head, only a half shadow with his back to the entrance of the cave.

"Not until you calm down Naruto."

He felt the grip of the shadows reinforce their strength but he pushed against it, the chakra of his host coming unbidden to him to aid his strength. Everyone recoiled slightly as he suddenly became darker and more menacing, red light softly shining from him.

The grip of the shadow slipped a little and he took a step forwards against it. Shikamaru called out to his teammates.

"Kiba, Choji we need to hold him still!"

His teammates rose but it was a second too late, Naruto knocked the two of them back, clearing himself some space.

He felt a softer grip behind him, holding his arm so gently and tenderly. He knew it had to be Sakura.

"Naruto-kun...please...stop."

He could hear the tears but he had to...he had to.

Tiredness and chakra clogged his mind and stopped him thinking. His body wanted to pursue the figure out of the cave and back into the night to hunt it down. Sakura was stopping him.

Unbidden his arm pulled her forwards as he spun, the kunai already in his other hand, spinning round the other way.

He felt the resistance with a savage feeling of success before what he had done dawned upon him.

He looked, the world slowing to a crawl as Sakura's wide eyed expression fell down as his grip released her. He could see the kunai, his kunai, in her throat. He could see the blood too. He saw her tumble away into the dark of the cave.

He heard somebody shouting, somebody crying out in surprise and anger and sadness and rage. He realised it was his own voice.

Chakra bubbled around him, cloaking him, burning away his skin as the tails began to form behind him. He felt a blow that didn't move him, and a second, and a third. He heard voices he recognised but didn't pay attention to.

The rabid chakra burned away the genjutsu as it engulfed his body in fire that burnt his skin and left him crying in pain. His ribs burnt, the cut of his hand felt larger. He could feel the world peel away.

**"Don't. Stop. Now. There is no escape."**

"Yes. Give in. Don't. Stop. Now. There is no escape."

The voices of the man and the fox were eerily similar, speaking the same words separately yet together as the last of the reality bubbled and frothed away from his mind, leaving him in nothingness for a few brief microseconds.

Then he was standing in a muddy field in the pouring rain, in the smoke that covered the battlefield. He fell to his knees and let out a cry of anger.

"Naruto-kun!"

Someone was kneeling next to him, he looked into her face and a tear fell down his cheek as he embraced Sakura suddenly, dragging her down to him.

"What is wrong?"

He realised that he was back on the battlefield, and had just randomly hugged Sakura out of relief that she was alive. He rose, his ribs really ground within him and he winced.

She at least noticed that, running her hand over him as the diagnostic jutsu ran. It hovered over his ribs and she looked at him oddly.

"It shouldn't be that bad, are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm...fine. Where did the guy go?"

"What guy? We just drove them off and then you nearly collapsed!"

Naruto tried to think, he felt like he'd been awake even longer now. His hope of this world being his own, his real one was low now. Something was definitely wrong with this technique. It wasn't right, it was like when Itachi had attacked him and he had no escape from his genjutsu.

The mud felt so real, so wet and cloying beneath his feet. The rain felt so wet and strong. The smoke blinded his sight and choked his lungs.

He wanted to collapse, his ribs continued to burn. It made no sense. Why did his ribs get worse but his hand only open after some time? Sakura pulled him more upright.

"We need to find shelter."

Naruto nodded well he'd been right before.

"There's a cave about twenty minutes from here in that" he indicated with a tired point of his arm, "direction. It's nothing great but it is the best shelter for miles around here."

Sakura nodded, not questioning how he knew but glad that he did know it. They stumbled through the thick mud and smoke towards where the rest of their team stood.

United once more, the group made their wave once more towards the cave. He was walking it on automatic now, his brain a haze due to the hours of genjutsu time that he could still remember. He still wasn't sure that this was the real world, he would know in time.

He kept checking his hand, daring it cut open again, daring it once more to begin bleeding without any reason. When it did he would break out of the genjutsu once again, if not then nothing would happen. But should he? Maybe he could change it this time.

He cast his gaze around as they walked, trying to spot the tenth figure that was haunting his world in the previous layers. He felt a pang of frustration that this wasn't real, despite how real it felt. It was like a vivid dream from which he could wake into another.

He nearly stumbled, becoming aware of how long he had been awake. The smoke and rain felt like it was trying to clog his very breath, depriving him of oxygen. He took some deep breaths, ignoring the look of concern Sakura was giving him.

He would just sleep this time. The figure had to be a figment of his imagination. He could ignore them. He could sleep and rest and he would be able to think clearly. Either someone would break him out of the genjutsu, or the person creating it could be taken out.

There was only one way that wouldn't be happening and that was if none of his team was able to because...they... Urgency flooded his mind as that thought rattled around. He needed to break out on his own. He needed to be strong for them.

But how? He'd tried before and all it did was increase his pain and make it harder and force him to give in further to his anger and the rage of his beast. What happened if he used its power inside this place? Would it break free into the real world? Would he unleash it all?

He couldn't go to that place. He needed sleep. He needed it more than medicine. He needed to let go.

He knew the terrain by now, knowing how much time was left until they reached the cave. This was the third time he had done this, the third time they had walked through the rain to the cave. It was beyond de ja vu, this felt more and more like destiny. Whether Hinata found it or he knew where it was it would always be there.

He saw it look out of the darkness. Cold, dark, like a gaping maw now that he really paid it attention. It was at least out of the freezing rain and wind, and let in less of the clogging, cloying smoke.

They entered once more, and he could have sworn that the clatter of feet on on the stone and the slap of wet clothing and feet on the ground was exactly the same as the previous three times. He could hear Kiba talking about the battle again and it was the same words.

Yet if this was another layer of the genjutsu then he couldn't break out of it by normal means. It had to be another coincidence, it just had to be. It was just inside his head and turning his own thoughts against him.

He was too tired to process this.

There were quiet mumbles of conversation between some of them, Shikamaru muttering to Ino and vice versa. For a moment Naruto considered speaking, saying anything to try and break through to his team. He felt the tiredness too. Next to him, Sakura's wet form shifted closer to him, an arm falling across him.

"Naruto-kun..."

Her words lingered a little as she whispered them.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

He softly held her closer, aware once more of how close she was. It was the same as how it had happened in the last genjutsu layer, on this time it was with speaking as well. Sakura was calmer now, exhausted as well.

He almost gave the same reply he always had, but the words caught in his throat.

"Yes...don't worry about it until tomorrow. I just need the sleep."

He felt her draw closer to him and then he saw the figure standing brazenly in the entrance to the cave, their unseen eyes looking right at him. His body needed the rest but his mind wanted to know. He began to rise.

"What's wrong?"

"There's someone there, moving to the exit!"

He tore out of her grasp, others rose in alarm. Sakura grabbed him and he half struggled against her grip.

"There's nobody there Naruto! There are eight of us here and we would have seen them."

"No, there's someone there! I saw them damn it."

He pushed back and Sakura stumbled backwards, slipping on the wet floor. Sai caught her before she hit the ground as the others surrounded Naruto. He tried to push through but Shikamaru had him tightly grasped in his shadow.

"Let me go!"

"Naruto calm down. You're exhausted. Stop."

He felt his mind whirring as he tried to reconcile what he felt with what he could feel. This had to be another illusion; there was no way that this was the true reality. But he'd thought that before. He'd had this same conversation and these same thoughts before. He had escaped here before and he couldn't do it again, he had to continue. If he went back now then he'd go through it all again.

He felt the burning in his ribs and the pain in his hand flare up as if to warn him of the danger of going backwards.

"Shika, let me go."

The boy shook his head, only a half shadow with his back to the entrance of the cave.

"Not until you calm down Naruto."

He felt the grip of the shadows reinforce their strength but he pushed against it, the chakra of his host coming unbidden to him to aid his strength. Everyone recoiled slightly as he suddenly became darker and more menacing, red light softly shining from him.

The grip of the shadow slipped a little and he took a step forwards against it. Shikamaru called out to his teammates.

"Kiba, Choji we need to hold him still!"

His teammates rose but it was a second too late, Naruto knocked the two of them back, clearing himself some space.

He felt a softer grip behind him, holding his arm so gently and tenderly. He knew it had to be Sakura.

"Naruto-kun...please...stop."

He knew what was going to happen. He had no way of stopping it now. He had to follow the path all the way along or he had no escape.

"Sakura-chan...I'm...I'm sorry."

Unbidden his arm pulled her forwards as he spun, the kunai already in his other hand, spinning round the other way. He felt the resistance. He didn't want to look. He knew what had happened. He just looked ahead.

He heard somebody shouting, somebody crying out in surprise and anger and sadness and rage. He realised it was his own voice.

Chakra bubbled around him, cloaking him, burning away his skin as the tails began to form behind him. He felt a blow that didn't move him, and a second, and a third. He heard voices he recognised but didn't pay attention to.

The rabid chakra engulfed him, three tails lashing wildly behind him, knocking bodies aside. He felt blows on his chest and he struck forwards, slamming the figure hard into the wall, hearing the crack of bones.

He wanted to stop.

**"Don't. Stop. Now. This is the only way. Give in to it."**

He heard the other voice too, echoing the words of the fox but more sweetly, more invitingly. The fox was urgent and angry.

His hearing was registering noises but he knew he had to stop them all. His body took over as he ended the lives of seven more figures. When all the noise had stopped, and the echoes from the cave had died away he felt the chakra fall from him.

He fell to his knees and wept, but he knew he had done what he'd had to do. He lifted his gaze to the entrance where the figure no long was. Slitted pupils saw more of the world than human eyes, and he could smell the trail. The chakra flooded his system, enhancing his senses. He could see the trail. He knew that path.

He sprung, the chakra dulling the pain and he followed the smell.

It was close. Familiar.

So very familiar.

It led back to the battlefield.

It led back to where it all began.

**"Look at the moon. See why we are cursed!"**

The clouds broke as he looked up and the baleful light of the moon shone down upon him. It wasn't white, it was blood red. It stained the sky and hailed smoke all around. It wasn't just red.

"Sharingan..."

But that meant it could only be...no. It couldn't be right. It had to be wrong. He would defeat this figure and find the truth.

He found the battlefield; he saw the figure standing there in the red light. The mud was hard under his feet against all logic, but he didn't care about that now. He knew this was illusion and nothing had to make sense.

The figure stood in the dark, his back to Naruto. The hair, the posture, the clothing all suddenly looked so very similar.

They turned and despite all he had seen, nothing shocked Naruto more than who it was.

"How?"

"I'm the part of you that you ignore Naruto-kun. I'm here to take what is mine."

It was him. The hair, the clothes, everything looked exactly the same. Until he turned around. The eyes were different. They burnt with red internal fire and the whites were black.

Then he attacked, the movement so normal and so expected that Naruto realised he really was being attacked by himself. He caught the first blow and turned him aside before the tangle of their arms brought them both down into a scrambling war.

His ribs burnt as blows caught them from above, but he rolled and smacked the doppelganger hard in the face, splitting open a line of blood along the cheek. Feet kicked him off, the ribs taking the brunt of it and he stumbled backwards.

"Rasengan!"

The two balls of chakra collided hard and a war of pushing began between them.

"Why are you here?"

"I was freed by my benefactor, now I can become what I truly hope to be. You've already started this process by doing my job for me."

The voice became mocking, pretending to blubber even as the two of them duelled with their jutsu.

"Sakura-chan...Hinata-chan...Kiba, Shino, Sai, Choji, Ino, Shikamaru. You disposed of them all and you didn't even watch because I enjoyed it. I know everything about you and all of it is me! They are not your friends! They haven't helped you despite all the times you saved them!"

Naruto focused his attention on the Rasengan, they ran against one another and he needed more than that.

"Sakura-chan doesn't love you and never will! She's just using you. Give up! Give yourself to me!"

"You are a part of me but you are not me! I am trapped here and if defeating you is part of that then I will make it happen."

The rasengan merged and burst, sending both of them flying backwards into the mud. Naruto slid through the mud and felt something inside burn again. His had bled more freely now.

He rose more slowly than his counterpart who laughed darkly.

"Normally neither of us could prevail, but here...in this place? You are weaker than I, more injured, more tired. You have nothing that could save you."

Naruto realised that he was probably right.

**"Yes. Give in. Give yourself to the real you."**

"No."

He felt a new fire burn inside his chest. This was not pain, but it was anger. Anger at being trapped like this, anger and everything. The clouds fled his mind, revealing a black sky with only the baleful Sharingan moon staring down upon him. If he gave in he would lose himself.

"This is just a genjutsu, and in here you may have the advantage, but out there, there are people that need me. People that I will protect. People who give me strength!"

His doppelganger was on him with a snarl, trying to beat him down using his physical advantage. But the pain in his ribs was duller now; he could feel some of the tiredness melt away in the face of his internal fire. Both Naruto charged forwards again.

"Rasengan!"

The chakra spheres collided again, each Naruto pushing for victory. He could feel the fox trying to drain it away and snapped his influence off, hearing the last howl of rage spit from it's maw as he did so.

"I will win this."

"I will win! Give yourself to me."

He needed something his dark side didn't have. An old voice echoed in his head, one from someone long dead but that he had treasured inside. His grandfather's voice, long gone at the hands of Orochimaru but still in his head, a long memory.

The Will of Fire.

Use it.

The dark Naruto watched as small flames began to engulf Naruto's Rasengan, spreading over the surface like cracks spreading over a ball of glass. Small at first, then larger, searing orange flames that cracked and engulfed the Rasengan before beginning to devour his.

"No!"

"Will of Fire Rasengan!"

Naruto drove the rasengan forwards, putting his entire force of will and energy into the blow. It cut through his doppelganger's Rasengan and through towards his arm and his chest.

There was a yell of pain, his yell just not from him. He saw the figure begin to waver in the air, growing weaker and less substantial. As his attack petered out, so did the figure.

The world went silent for a few brief seconds before the world around him snapped and peeled away in ways he couldn't describe.

There was the most fleeting moment of colourless night.

Then he was standing, looking up at the figure whose eyes glowed red in the smoke and ruin of the mud and rain. The last Uchiha looked at him with a smirk.

Naruto felt the pain in his ribs but it was just the pain from before. His hands were uncut. He was back in the real world. He smiled at the Uchiha before him before every second of the jutsu consumed his body and he stumbled once more.

He shared a look with Sasuke who stared with what had to be surprise before the world went dark and his mind shut itself down.

* * *

He awoke to the beeping of his heart monitor and opened his eyes. A lot of things hurt, but it was phantom pain. He began to sit up, feeling the effects of the painkillers keeping him weak.

The door opened and Sakura ran in followed by Tsunade. He felt arms wrap around him briefly before Tsunade coughed and Sakura released him a little sheepishly.

There was a moments silence before Naruto spoke.

"Did you catch him?"

Sakura looked at Tsunade for permission before turning back to him and shaking her head. Tsunade shrugged.

"You've been in a coma for a day, which is better than Kakashi did after taking Tsukotoyumi with a Sharingan. Your mind needed healing more than your body, which is of course fine against all medical expectation."

Naruto sat up.

"It felt like I was in there for hours."

Tsunade nodded.

"Should have been 72 hours if Kakashi is to be believed."

Naruto shook his head.

"No...it was only about twelve. I think he ended it because he suspected something else."

Tsunade shrugged, checking his chart.

"Well I can let you out later, but promise me you won't go back there looking for him. He's too dangerous. You need to talk about what happened."

Naruto looked at Sakura who looked away, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Hai Hokage-sama."

* * *

Footsteps echoed behind the Masked Man as Sasuke returned.

"How was your errand Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke grimaced; the man's very way of speaking annoyed him immensely. So light-hearted, as if everything was just a game to him.

"Unsuccessful. Somehow the idiot managed to defeat himself."

The masked man shrugged, not bothering to turn his back.

"Surely you tortured him?"

"I made him kill his entire team. It should have broken him. When one of his personalities was beaten I released the genjutsu. It took only fourteen hours of the genjutsu."

The masked man was across the room in seconds and delivered a blow to Sasuke that he hadn't seen coming.

"You fool. You thought you'd be clever and now we won't get another opportunity like this. You should have just tortured him senseless before unleashing his darker side. But you let pride cloud your vision didn't you? You watched him defeat himself and you let your concentration and mind slip. You are so much weaker than your brother when it comes to Tsukotoyumi."

Sasuke staggered to his feet but was dismissed with a wave of the man's gloved hands.

"Go. I will get you to do something when I need you."

Sasuke stalked from the room. What had the idiot got that managed to give him that strength. He had shouted about the Will of Fire, but that was nonsense. It had given strength though. He resolved to make his own Will, one stronger than fire. He would have his revenge.


End file.
